- All inclusive hotels!!!
You can pretty much say good-bye to experiencing any Cuban culture if this the route that you take to see Cuba. I actually forced Matt to stay in all inclusive for 2 nights, which we ended up taking a car and driving to another island because we couldn’t stand the people. Don’t mean to sound pretentious here, but when you see a lady grabbing as many churros from the dessert bar as possible so no one else can get any of what she describes as “KURROS, popular cuban snacks just like onion rings!!!”. Another sad sight was when, as I was pulling into the parking lot, a typical 1950s era car pulled into the lot as well and literally 6 families immediately ran out of the hotel to photograph it as if it was the only one in the country. However, in MY defense, CAYO COCO Beach is known to be the nicest beach on the island. Locals are not allowed on this beach. So, I knew this was my only shot at getting Matt to an all inclusive 🙂 It pretty much only validated why we try to avoid tourists while on vacation.
2. Getting a hotel in a major Cuban city
We did extensive research and found that any hotel in Havana, Trinidad or Cienfuegos was overpriced, not necessarily nice and not in the center of the old city where we wanted to be. If you are visiting Cuba and really want to experience their culture, you absolutely HAVE to stay in a Casa Particular! This is basically an airbnb (which you can go on airbnb.com and find a Casa Particular that fits your needs and at times even takes U.S. credit cards!) that families will rent out and let you stay in their apartment. Our family in Havana was very welcoming and made us some Cuban coffee when we first arrived at the apartment. They were super helpful and found us taxis, restaurants, and called our next Casa Particular for us.
3. Food on the side of the road
Might want to avoid the mystery meat!
Now this is usually our most favorite thing to do when traveling abroad. ESPECIALLY, in Asia, specifically Hong Kong, which is the street food capital of the world. In Cuba, however, avoid any tap water, ice, street food, etc. because 9 times out of 10, it’s been sitting out in the heat all day. We were extremely careful in Cuba when eating out. Once we got to a city, we made sure to go on Tripadvisor and eat at only top rated restaurants. We also brushed our teeth with bottled water just to be safe. I got really sick after Colombia so I wanted to be extra safe, as we went right before the winter holidays 🙂
4. Change in the national Cuban currency
Make sure that you do not receive the national currency whenever you are getting change. The Cuban currency is the CUC, however, sometimes cashiers will give you back the national currency which is restricted to use only by the locals for smalls goods. It’s pretty much sold now as souvenirs because Che Guevarra’s face is on the $3 bill. This is the only bill that we actually tried to get, but of course no one had it!
5. Day trips with a guide
I cannot count the number of times we were offered a taxi, a horse back ride, or a guide to take us somewhere in his car. Most of the time, the cars are old and don’t go over 50 mph. The most popular trip is a day trip from Havana to Trinidad. One way, it takes approximately 3.5 hours. The roads in Cuba are not great and drivers will go slowly just to avoid the numerous pot holes. It will also cost the same as renting a car (~$100/day). We actually got super lucky and were able to rent a car during the high season in December. This way, we were able to see Havana, Playa Larga (Bay of Pigs), Cienfuegos, Trinidad, El Niche, Cayo Coco, Santa Marta, Remedios, and other small villages along the way. ALWAYS ALWAYS rent a car if you can!!